Day 55 - from sea to air — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased $0, slip fee TBD, daily high temperature 73*F

Today we retraced our steps back 150 road miles to Pensacola for a day long visit to the National Naval Aviation Museum. This is the world’s largest Naval Aviation museum and one of the most-visited museums in the state of Florida. The museum recounts the rich history and has more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Aviation. These historic and one-of-a-kind aircraft are displayed both inside the Museum’s nearly 350,000 square feet of exhibit space and outside on its 37-acre grounds. Exhibits include record-setting aircraft like the NC-4 flying boat, the first plane to fly across the Atlantic, as well as combat veterans, including an SBD Dauntless that flew at the Battle of Midway, two Vietnam MiG-killers, an A-7 Corsair II that logged missions over Iraq during Operation Desert Storm and the last F-14 Tomcat to fly a combat mission.

Though the aircraft are the largest of the Museum relics, they are just one dimension of the collection. More than 4,000 uniforms, flight gear, weaponry, medals and decorations add a personal touch to the story of Naval Aviation. In addition, the Emil Buehler Naval Aviation Library, which houses personal and official papers of prominent Naval Aviators, squadron records and a photograph collection numbering more 350,000 images, is a significant repository of Naval history and draws researchers from around the world. Naval Air Station Pensacola is also the home of the Navy Blue Angels. Andy and I participated in two guided tours lead by retired Navy and Marine pilots. They both were a wealth of knowledge and had many stories to tell about various aircraft, aviation history and related politics that influenced the growth of military aviation in general as well as competition between the military branches.

While at the museum we met with previous loop contacts from three boats: Tom and Jane from Elizabear, Larry from Panda Bear and Joe from Boston. You never know who you will bump into again along the way.

We returned to the boat mid-evening after a 14 hour day only to watch the Minnesota Gophers lose to the Iowa Hawkeyes. A disappointing end to a great day.

John and Priscilla had a great time riding in a Craig Cat a 10′ catamaran with a 30 hp motor. We went out on Lake Dora.

We went up the Dora Canal in our Craig Cat. We saw lots of tropical birds but no alligators.

A fine ride.

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.

Here, Fridays were dedicated to the two Bs–Beaches and Boats.
Laura Miller, Butterfly Weeds (Butterfly Weeds, #1)